Joel has worked at all levels in the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry for more than 30 years and in the building industry for more than 40 years. He owns and operates Solutions in Solar Electricity, a PV consulting company.
He is the co-author of "The New Solar Electric Home," the first published book about residential PV and a standard reference for PV installers to this day.
Most recently, he advised a PV start-up. In the past he was the general manager of two PV manufacturers where he led product and manufacturing development, UL product listing, IEC product certification and ISO 9001 quality certification. He has extensive design and management experience in PV products and systems, engineering and sales and is a PV consultant to municipal governments, utility companies and businesses.
Mr. Davidson was a director and manager for international PV companies and has been one of the PV industry's top engineering and sales managers since 1984. In 1986, he was listed as a “PV industry founder” and named "One of this country's most experienced, hands-on pioneers" by the Rocky Mountain Institute.
Joel is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the national and California Solar Energy Industries Associations, Association of Energy Engineers, ASTM International and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He has given numerous solar training seminars to architects, engineers, cities, utilities, teachers and the public. He and his wife live in Culver City, California in a solar powered home.
Bill Adelson is an architect and writer with over 25 years of experience in architecture, construction and solar energy. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, and a Co-founder of Envision Solar in San Diego.
Bill received his degree in architecture from Princeton University and his MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He has managed building projects of all sizes.
At Envision Solar, which specializes in Photovoltaics for parking structures, he applied his design and building background to the creation of high-tech PV solar solutions as well as Electric Vehicle Charging stations.
Before co-founding Envision Solar, Bill was a Senior Associate a Tucker Sadler Architects in San Diego, which – for nearly 50 years – has been one of the premier architectural firms in Southern California. Bill was the Project Manager in Charge of Tucker Sadler’s largest projects including the master planning for the Phase 3 expansion of the San Diego Convention Center – a 1.5 million of expansion estimated to cost $700 million.
Education:
A.B., Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 1977
M.S., Aero. & Mech. Engineering (Energy Systems Eng. Option), University of Arizona, 1979
Additional Details:
Fluent in German, intermediate in French. Roger lived in Germany and Austria for almost five years
Written over 100 technical papers, white papers and journal articles on subjects related to solar power systems, solar energy, advanced batteries and solar detoxification.
Roger has a background in physics, and an advanced degree in mechanical engineering emphasized heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and computer modeling. He has extensive experience in the design, development, production, testing, and analysis of solar thermal power systems and components. His solar experience includes:
Innovation, development, and design of solar hydrogen production systems;
Design, construction, operation, and evaluation of commercial dish/Stirling power systems and heliostats;
Design, construction, and testing of solar dish/PV and single-lens/single cell concentrating PV systems, components, and manufacturing techniques
Evaluation of the performance of large solar thermal systems using flat plate and parabolic trough concentrating solar collectors to provide process heat;
Innovation and development of low-cost, low-temperature solar water and space heating components and systems;
Innovation, development, and testing of membrane heliostat and dish concentrator systems and fabrication techniques;
Development of hybrid solar daylighting systems and components; and
